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Google Chrome Group Policy settings

739 settings · 155.0.8059.85 · 19 Oct 2026

28 folders · 237 settingsCSV
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Google › Google Chrome

Ephemeral profile

Computer and userIntune-readyForceEphemeralProfiles

Supported on Microsoft Windows 7 or later

What it does

If set to enabled this policy forces the profile to be switched to ephemeral mode. If this policy is specified as an OS policy (e.g. GPO on Windows) it will apply to every profile on the system; if the policy is set as a Cloud policy it will apply only to a profile signed in with a managed account. In this mode the profile data is persisted on disk only for the length of the user session. Features like browser history, extensions and their data, web data like cookies and web databases are not preserved after the browser is closed. However this does not prevent the user from downloading any data to disk manually, save pages or print them. If the user has enabled sync all this data is preserved in their sync profile just like with regular profiles. Incognito mode is also available if not explicitly disabled by policy. If the policy is set to disabled or left not set signing in leads to regular profiles.

What it writes

Hive
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome
Value name
ForceEphemeralProfiles
When enabled
DWORD 1
When disabled
DWORD 0

Configure and deploy

Choose a state; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

State
Apply to

Enabled · Computer · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome]
"ForceEphemeralProfiles"=dword:00000001


PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Ephemeral profile
# Name: ForceEphemeralProfiles
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: chrome.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome' -Name 'ForceEphemeralProfiles' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1
  • The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
  • Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_chrome/ForceEphemeralProfiles

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_chrome/ForceEphemeralProfiles</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>
Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Ephemeral profile
# Name: ForceEphemeralProfiles
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: chrome.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome' -Name 'ForceEphemeralProfiles' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ForceEphemeralProfiles') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Ephemeral profile
# Name: ForceEphemeralProfiles
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: chrome.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome' -Name 'ForceEphemeralProfiles' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 1 retained release

  1. 155.0.8059.8519 Oct 2026
    • Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

Template

Internal name
ForceEphemeralProfiles
Namespace
Google.Policies.Chrome
Template file
chrome.admx
Release
Google Chrome 155.0.8059.85 · file set 1f03ffd12695d620…
Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Both" displayName="$(string.ForceEphemeralProfiles)" explainText="$(string.ForceEphemeralProfiles_Explain)" key="Software\Policies\Google\Chrome" name="ForceEphemeralProfiles" presentation="$(presentation.ForceEphemeralProfiles)" valueName="ForceEphemeralProfiles" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Google.Policies.Chrome:googlechrome" />
      <supportedOn ref="Google.Policies.Chrome:SUPPORTED_WIN7" />
      <enabledValue>
        <decimal value="1" />
      </enabledValue>
      <disabledValue>
        <decimal value="0" />
      </disabledValue>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="ForceEphemeralProfiles" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />

Supported platforms and category

Google.Policies.Chrome:category:googlechrome
<category displayName="$(string.googlechrome)" name="googlechrome" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Google.Policies:Cat_Google" />
    </category>
Google.Policies.Chrome:definition:SUPPORTED_WIN7
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_WIN7)" name="SUPPORTED_WIN7" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Google.Policies:category:Cat_Google
<category displayName="$(string.google)" name="Cat_Google" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Google.Policies.Chrome:category:googlechrome
<category displayName="$(string.googlechrome)" name="googlechrome" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Google.Policies:Cat_Google" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Google.Policies.Chrome:googlechrome">Google Chrome</string></strings>
Google.Policies.Chrome:definition:SUPPORTED_WIN7
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_WIN7)" name="SUPPORTED_WIN7" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Google.Policies.Chrome:SUPPORTED_WIN7">Microsoft Windows 7 or later</string></strings>
Google.Policies:category:Cat_Google
<category displayName="$(string.google)" name="Cat_Google" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Google.Policies:google">Google</string></strings>
ChangeIntel

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